cannabisnews.com: Activist: Tell The DEA They Made a Mistake
Activist: Tell The DEA They Made a Mistake
Posted by FoM on December 05, 2001 at 09:17:54 PT
By Reid Williams
Source: Summit Daily News
Stan White is sick of the federal government making decisions for its citizens without their input, especially when it comes to hemp and cannabis.The Drug Enforcement Administration’s most recent move — a ban on hemp-based food products — is the last straw for White. Now the Summit Cove resident is rushing to rally supporters into a letter-writing campaign to have the decision reversed.
“I’m trying to get people to acknowledge what the DEA has done, to let them know that we do have comment period and to get people to write and say there’s nothing wrong with these foods,” White said.On Oct. 9, the DEA published three interpretations and clarifications in the Federal Register, the publishing clearinghouse for federal regulations and actions. The first part clarifies that “any product that contains any amount of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) to be a schedule I controlled substance” — or, in layman’s terms, if it’s made from hemp or marijuana, it’s illegal. The other two parts say that it doesn’t matter if the THC is synthetic or natural, and that certain products, e.g. animal feed or other products not intended for human use, are exempt from the ban.The decision doesn’t affect products such as textiles or shampoos made from hemp. Other products, however, such as hemp seed oil (used in salad dressings), hemp ice cream and granola-like snack foods must be pulled from the shelves by Feb. 6, 2002. The only issue is that the DEA didn’t announce the rule clarification to stores. Vendors of natural food products are only discovering they can’t restock their inventory when they call distributors and companies who tell the merchants the company’s been shut down. “I didn’t even know what was going on until I happened to mention to a customer that I could no longer get some of the products,” said Kathy Jones, owner of Alpine Natural Foods in Frisco. “He just happened to know about the rule change. But nobody ever told us.”Likewise, staff at Amazing Grace Natural Foods in Breckenridge “hadn’t heard a peep” from the government on what they were allowed to sell and what they weren’t. The store owners didn’t see much sense in the decision.“Anybody out to get high is going have a tough time drinking 20 bottles of oil,” Jones said. White, a cannabis and hemp activist, is hoping citizens will make the same point to federal decision-makers. White became a proponent of the plant products after his 17-year-old son died of leukemia four years ago. White said he asked doctors about medical marijuana and was given little information. He said he found out later that doctors did him a disservice by keeping information from him.“My son could self-administer morphine, but he couldn’t smoke a joint,” White said. “Later, I got a computer and did my own research and found our government has no credibility on this issue and that they’ve thwarted efforts to get information out there. Now they’ve completely banned a grain product. That’s never happened before in this country.”The DEA has an open comment period, until Dec. 10, on the hemp law clarification. White said he hopes concerned citizens will write letters to get the agency to change the law back.Even if the law doesn’t change, local vendors probably have little to worry about if they continue selling the hemp-based products. Summit County Sheriff Joe Morales said local police have bigger things to worry about.“A lot of these changes are still going on as legislators try to define what’s what, so we don’t have a real educated position on it,” Morales said. “But we’re more concerned with the felonious aspects of marijuana. This thing isn’t real high on our priority list.” Information: Help with hempTo comment on the hemp ban, write to:Deputy Assistant AdministratorOffice of Diversion ControlDrug Enforcement AdministrationAttn: DEA Federal Register Representative/CCDWashington, D.C. 20537Website -- http://www.usdog.gov/dea/advisories/pa100901.htmlNewshawk: The GCWSource: Summit Daily News (CO)Author: Reid WilliamsPublished: December 5, 2001Copyright: 2001 Summit Daily NewsContact: wchilders summitdaily.comWebsite: http://www.summitdaily.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:FTE's Hemp Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/hls.htmCannabisNews Hemp Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtmlBan on Hemp in Foods Draws Protests http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11489.shtmlHemp-Product Seller Goes To Bat Against DEA http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11487.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by i420 on December 06, 2001 at 04:50:30 PT
This could have advantages in the long run...
They are only destroying their own credibility (which isn't much to begin with) someday John Q. Public will catch up and there will be .... to pay
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Comment #3 posted by The GCW on December 05, 2001 at 15:07:47 PT
Many ...
people at even health food stores were and are unaware of these new regulations. I received an E mail from another activist who said the same thing about an even larger health food store, and again these are estableshments that sell hemp food products.
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Comment #2 posted by Xanaralk on December 05, 2001 at 11:04:06 PT
Where is democracy supposed to be ?
The DEAlibans issued a decree that Hemp is UnAmerican. respect it or be jailed for treason.
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Comment #1 posted by greenfox on December 05, 2001 at 09:24:24 PT
crazy f*cked up DEA....
Well they are at it - again. Sliding leglislation under the "door" of the people... without letting them know. Is this sly and underhanded? Of course not! It's just the DEA "protecting" you from yourself.... :P~~~~~~~~-gf
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